Meet Marcus
A native of Fairbanks, Alaska, Marcus Moore is a multifaceted musician dedicated to performance, composition, education, and peacebuilding through the arts. Currently based on the island of Oahu, Marcus serves as a Royal Global Clarinet Performing Artist, a band director, and a radio talk show host for Hawaii Public Radio. He holds a Master of Music in Composition from the University of Hawaii at Manoa, where he graduated Summa Cum Laude, as well as a Graduate Certificate in Conflict Resolution. He also received a Bachelor’s Degree in Music Performance from Georgia State University, graduating Magna Cum Laude.
As a composer, Marcus works across diverse mediums ranging from wind band to theatre. The 2025 season marked a significant expansion of his portfolio, including the premiere of his first ballet, Beige: An Afro Ballet, and his first original score for a stage play at the prestigious John F. Kennedy Theatre on Oahu. His works for wind ensemble and chamber groups continue to garner national attention; in March 2025, the Marine Corps Forces Pacific Band performed alongside University of Hawaii students to premiere three of Marcus's original band works. Earlier that year, he served as the Composer-in-Residence for Southwestern Oklahoma State University, premiering his piece We Bloom Once More. In the chamber music world, his flute choir piece, Jubilation, was premiered at the 2025 National Flute Association Conference in Atlanta by ZAWA! and the Miyazawa Performing Artists Flute Choir. Marcus has also had works commissioned and published by the New Works Project and Murphy Music Press.
Prior to his graduate studies and current compositional focus, Marcus served as a clarinetist with the Marine Corps Forces Pacific Band (MARFORPAC). During his service, he performed with the concert wind ensemble, marching band, and the Wayfaring Winds woodwind quintet. His contributions to the Marine Corps Music Program earned him the Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal and the Colonel Finley R. Hamilton Military Outstanding Musician Award. In 2020, he was selected to perform with the first-ever Marine Musician virtual band, comprised of musicians from the President’s Own, Commandant’s Own, and the ten Marine Corps Fleet Bands.
Marcus maintains a high-profile career as a performing artist across the United States, Africa, and Asia. He has performed with the Royal Australian Navy Band, the 25th Infantry Division Band, the U.S. Pacific Fleet Band, the Georgia Wind Symphony, and the Atlanta Philharmonic Orchestra. An avid chamber musician, he has toured with the Wayfaring Winds—including a premiere performance at the Texas Music Educators Association (TMEA) convention—and performed with the Chiaro Trio, placing second in the 2016 MTNA State of Georgia Chamber Music Competition. He is also a past fellow of the Imani Winds Chamber Music Festival, where he studied with the Grammy award-winning quintet.
Beyond the stage, Marcus is deeply committed to the international music community as an educator and innovator. In 2024, he volunteered in Tanzania with the Daraja Music Initiative, teaching music and aiding in the conservation of the Mpingo (African Blackwood) tree. Locally in Hawaii, he volunteers with the Aloha Animal Sanctuary as an animal feeder. He is the founder and president of the Libertalia Philharmonic, an interdisciplinary collective of artists, and a founding member/lead sound engineer of the Neo International Clarinetist Exposé. Dedicated to promoting new music, Marcus has commissioned and premiered works by numerous composers, including Marc Mellits, Dylan Findley, and Nathan Bales.
In his free time Marcus enjoys traveling the world, trying new food, attending concerts, watching anime, and playing video games with his friends from around the world.
